NASCAR Cup Series: Kevin Harvick penalized after 2018 AAA Texas 500

Following his victory in the AAA Texas 500 that originally clinched him a berth in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, Kevin Harvick has been penalized.

When Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag after dominating the second race of the three-race round of 8, the AAA Texas 500, at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Cup Series fans were under the impression that he had clinched a berth in the Championship 4 at Homstead-Miami Speedway.

After all, wins in the playoffs automatically qualify drivers for the next round no matter what the next round is.

Harvick, however, is no longer locked into the Championship 4.

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The driver of the #4 Ford and his team have been issued an L1-level penalty following the 337-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas for a spoiler-related infraction that has huge championship implications for the 2014 Cup Series champion.

Harvick was docked 40 driver points and his #4 Ford team were docked 40 owner points as well. His win now no longer counts as far as him clinching a berth in the Championship 4 is concerning, meaning that the only driver who has locked himself into the Championship 4 is Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who won the opening race of the round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway.

Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, and car chief, Robert Smith, have both been suspended for the next two races as well. These two races at ISM Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway are the final two races of the 2018 season.

Here is what NASCAR.com had to say about why Harvick was issued this penalty.

"“The team violated Section 20.4.12 of the NASCAR Rule Book that is specific to spoilers. Spoilers must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer and not altered. The infraction was discovered in post-race tear down at the NASCAR Research & Development Center.”"

Here is what NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller had to say about the fact that the 42-year-old Bakersfield, California native was issued this penalty, according to NASCAR.

"“It is not our desire to issue any penalties, but will do so when necessary to ensure each race and championship is contested on a level playing field. We will now return our focus to Phoenix, and the battle for a championship.”"

Here is what Stewart-Haas Racing vice president of competition Greg Zipadelli had to say about the matter, according to NASCAR.

"“We work tirelessly across every inch of our race cars to create speed and, unfortunately, NASCAR determined we ventured into an area not accommodated by its rule book. We will not appeal the penalty. Instead, we will direct our immediate focus to this weekend’s event in Phoenix and control our destiny on the race track.”"

As opposed to being locked into the Championship 4, Harvick now sits in fourth place in the playoff picture, meaning he is on the bubble. He sits just three points ahead of teammate Kurt Busch in fifth. Harvick has 4,103 points while Busch has 4,100.

Will Kevin Harvick do enough in the final round of 8 race at ISM Raceway, the Can-Am 500, to clinch a berth in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 even after he was issued this major penalty following the AAA Texas 500? Tune in to NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 11 for the live broadcast of the race to find out.